Healthy Aging

When life feels like it is at its worst, you have the opportunity to be at your best. When the proverbial sh*t hits the fan and you start beating yourself up with the negative self-talk, you need a virtual “Moonstruck” slap-in-the-face “snap-out-of-it” moment to help you shift your mindset. Yes, life is hard. Yes, life is stressful. Bad things will happen. It is inevitable. So what can you do about it? You can shift your mindset and respond with positivity; decreasing your stress and increasing your overall wellness.

Between a stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. – Victor Frankel

As in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, sometimes adversity pushes you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. Often times the quest comes without warning; leaving little time to prepare. For example, when illness strikes you have little time to prepare for that overwhelming moment when you hear the dreaded words, “You have…” while panic automatically sets in causing you great stress. Stress can cause an increase in disease and dis-ease; taking a large toll on our physical and emotional health. And, in order to prevent falling further down this Rabbit hole of despair, you can discover your own resilience.

As you age, you have no idea how, or if, your body will betray you. The unknown is a way of life. When you have resilience you know you’ve “got this” no matter the situation. Resilience is the measurement of whether you bend or break and is one’s ability to overcome, especially when faced with adversity such as a diagnosis. It is influenced by many factors including your current physical and emotional well-being, nutrition, and spiritual practices, if any.

As you accept the ‘call to adventure’ when thrust into the unknown by adversity, you experience risk and reward; meeting each test of character, and undergoing positive transformation. Although you might not recognize it, you possess some ability or characteristic that makes you extraordinary and will assist you on your journey. My interpretation is this journey is how you discover the essence of your own resilience.

Resilience can be learned and nurtured. To do so, I use a four-step strategic thinking process taught to me by my parents during childhood: get clear, increase understanding, focus, and take action (G.I.F.T.). G.I.F.T., in essence, is a road-map to embodying resilience; affording you the ability to cope with adversity, clearly see life for the gift that it is, and help decrease stress while increasing your overall wellness.

Does this blog post speak to you? Look for my upcoming book, Be Your Own Superhero, in October 2017.